Is Linux A Realistic Alternative To Win 7?

I've spent much of the last two weeks trying to answer this question for myself, as many Win 7 users may feel that that's where they may go next year when Win 7 support ends. I chose Puppy for this because I've always had it and loved it but I do recognise that it isn't mainstream in the way Ubuntu or Mint are. Despite this I've only hit one problem with Puppy that I haven't found an answer to and atm it is a stopper - unreliable wireless internet connection. The problem has been finding a wifi config that works consistently. Mine is working about 10% of the time which is no good at all. I've had lots of help from Puppy experts but they haven't cracked it and the main reason seems to be that device drivers are mostly created by Linux enthusiasts by reverse engineering Windows drivers - very different from Windows where drivers are created by device manufacturers and rarely give problems.

So is this a problem with mainstream distros? Does Ubuntu, like Win 7, just connect wirelessly at boot almost regardless of hardware, or ????

 

That is the seemingly eternal problem faced with whatever flavour of Linux you go for. I have had some wifi cards work others not with varying success..... Tried Puppy, Ubuntu and Mint

Ubuntu was the one I had consistent success with on a Toshiba laptop.

The only bullet proof way that I have found of circumventing this issue is to disable the wifi card and use the pc or laptop's ethernet card and create a wifi bridge. I use this unit

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-AC...eywords=wr902&qid=1557260146&s=gateway&sr=8-4

The downside is that you have another cable and small box (it is quite small) attached. This is ok for a desktop but maybe inconvenient for a laptop, although the unit can be powered from a usb2 port as it only draws 0.35A (from memory) and does not necessarily need the psu.

Other downsides also relating to creating the bridge in the 1st place also

If you stumble upon another solution please do post back

Good Luck....

 

Thanks. It's been suggested I go to an adapter manufacturer that supports Linux and get a dongle. Sounds good but no suggestion as to which companies do such devices. Anyway it's a workaround, not a permanent solution. I do love Linux and will always maintain access to it, but without an answer to this problem to my mind it's not a practical solution to the Win 7 problem. Maybe others can point to other solutions.

 

Couldnt be further from the truth........I have run both Kali and Ubuntu now for years with a solid constant WiFi connection using both regular Realtek inbuilt adapters, and both the Alpha USB AWUS036NH and AWUS036ACH.

Actually, never had a single Wifi issue with Linux to date, but i dont run puppy.

 

Linux is certainly a viable alternative to Windows 7 (or other Windows versions).
But, I would not include Puppy Linux as a fully-fledged alternative to Windows 7 or newer. That was not the original author's intention. He wanted a lightweight distro with emphasis on speed and efficiency. And he succeeded memorably!

Windows users wanting to migrate to Linux, should look at MX Linux, Manjero, Mint & Ubuntu.
Here's a wealth of info.
https://distrowatch.com/

The single biggest problem for Linux users is hardware drivers - simply because there are so many devices.

FWIW.
Last year a loaded a CD with Ubuntu 10 (2010!), connected a Vodafone mobile modem (2 years old) via USB, and within a few minutes I was connected to the internet.

 

I agree......Linux has evolved greatly since the 90's.
Drivers were sometimes problematic back then, but today I find little issue with all the major providers of both hardware and software.
If I have a modern day beef, its with Epson printers, but thats trivial stuff compared to whats on offer with Linux.

Being a big Debian based fan, I find that these Alfa adapters offer trouble free networking with Linux over 802.11 g/n, right out of the box!

https://i.imgur.com/rGG3E9U.jpg

 

Will have to bow to your greater & no doubt more in-depth understanding of Linux.

Perhaps what I should have more accurately said was "That is the seemingly eternal problem faced by me with whatever flavour of Linux".

I recently tried Q4OS and Mint Cinnamon and had problems with the on board wifi adapter on both. Could be of course user (namely me) knowledge base, or perhaps the few laptops that I have tried with have been too old......

Will give it another try on Mint and see whether I fare any better this time with getting the onboard wifi adapter to work.

I have to confess that I do like Puppy and it is my distro of choice for helping friends who have difficulty with their pcs as it has the drive icons on the desktop.....

Good Luck

 

Give Kali (offensive security) a look over, I reckon you may like it if security is an interest.
Its a large file, but loaded with some very cool tools!

 

I should have added 'for the average user' to the thread title. Replicator and Eldon are anything but average users and have the knowhow to get their systems working. But the average user, most of whom have never even opened an Explorer window, expect and need their computer to just work and connect. With Windows it nearly always does, but after installing Linux? Fair chance it won't, not straight out of the box anyway, as has been both my experience and that of risk_reversal, and it's nearly always down to a driver issue. We'll have to wait until 2020 to see how many of those who just don't want Win 10 take the plunge into Linux.

 

I doubt more than 5% will migrate to Linux.
Many (myself included) will continue to use Win7 while the rest will move to Win10.
But that will eventually change.

The problem using older versions of Windows is support for newer hardware. And software publishers are just a few steps behind...

 

I'm going to try to find the time to install Ubuntu on this 6 yr old Thinkpad E335.

 

Windows is fine. I am comfortable hacking it but Linux....I believe that I am a slightly advanced beginner.

On an old Toshiba laptop [10-11yrs] running Ubuntu 10 [or so] the built in wifi card works very well (still have it). Never had an issue. Of course the laptop only has a 'g' card so unable to take advantage of my 40/10 connection. Probably were Replicator's USB wifi adapter comes in useful.

However, out an about with a laptop, I would prefer not to carry the kitchen sink with me if possible.

I did customise Ubuntu with an Apple style menu at the bottom.

Security is always at the very top of my list. Will download it and have a look. Perhaps it's easier to navigate..

I, like many others, are seriously considering our options post Win7 which for me will be at least another 3 years but I just can't face using Win10. Perhaps I am just getting old and grumpy.........

 

I installed both Ubuntu 10 and Linux Mint 10 (not at the same time) alongside Windows. I did not have to partition the hard disk. The installer extends the Windows partition. To remove the Linux distro was done by uninstalling it from Uninstall or change a program in Windows 7.
Brilliant!

 

I run Mint and Ubuntu as virtual machines in VB on Win10.

It Rocks!

What are partitions? Lol

 

Linux Mint 19 for VirtualBox.

Ubuntu Disco Dingo 19.04

 

I did set up Ubuntu 16.04 on a bootable flash but it was pretty useless now they've disabled the persistence feature. However it did connect straight away on the same machine on which I've been trying in vain to get Puppy reliably connected so there goes one of my preconceptions I do agree with the main points others have made here - that only a very small proportion of Win 7 users are likely even to try Linux, and before recommending that they should it's important to try to understand how they use their present system and how well they might cope with serious change.

Thanks everyone.

 

I agree! I just installed Ubuntu 16,04 on this lappie which had three partitions, Win 8, Win 10 and Data. It reduced Data and created a new partition for itself. I was able to determine where to put the split. Everything worked fine, including wireless network and internet. Stunning!

I would prefer it in a VM but this machine isn't up to that.

 

I am still having issues understanding the file system! I guess more practice is probably required on my part but if they could alter / simplify that then I would be a much happier bunny and keener to switch rather than dabble now and again.

 

This might help.
https://www.linux.com/blog/learn/intro-to-linux/2018/4/linux-filesystem-explained

 

I have to ask myself what am I going to do? Stay with W10, which at present is fine but may not stay that way because of their twice yearly major upgrade policy, or switch to Ubuntu or other Linux? Before retirement I was an accountant, and accountants were among the very first to use computers seriously. Upshot is that I have 20+ years worth of spreadsheets in Lotus 1-2-3 format which I must retain and be able to access. Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets aren't readable in any existing Linux software, nor can it be successfully installed in Wine, so it's Hobson's choice for me unless I use both Windows and Linux. Keeping on top of both would be just too time and mental energy consuming at my age so I think I'm going to be staying with 10 whatever its future may be and Linux will remain what it has always been, an interesting diversion I wish I knew as well as I know Windows.

 

What is the file extension(s) of the spreadsheets?

 

Ok, I know that you might say or think that my suggestion is silly but why not use Linux and install a VM with Win10 on it so that you can use Lotus1-2-3......Only one o/s to boot to and VM can be easily copied with no issues......Sorted

Thanks Eldon, I shall have a look, again at it.......and see whether I can get my head around it

 

Some of the older ones are .WK3 but most are .123. There are suggested ways to open these files in Excel but they don't work reliably or even at all for the larger more complex sheets. However I need to revisit the suggestion to run Windows and Lotus in a VM. I do have a PC capable of that, but the laptops here can't cope. Good suggestion - think I'd just given up on this years ago. In fact I still create spreadsheets in Lotus, I find it better to use than Excel.

 

LibreOffice is available for Linux. And Calc (spreadsheet program similar to Lotus 1-2-3 and MSO Excel) can open spreadsheets with the file extensions WK1, WKS, 123, wk3, wk4.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibreOffice#Supported_file_formats
You can install LibreOffice Portable in Windows and test it.

An alternative to running Linux in a VM is to install it on a second partition.

 

We've discussed this before Eldon but you're forgiven if you don't remember Main reason I have continued using Lotus 1-2-3 is that, unlike all other spreadsheet programs, you can include text in formulae. With complex sheets this is invaluable, but unfortunately if you open a sheet in any other program, including LibreOffice Calc, it just causes an error.

Yes, of course that is an option, but it requires a reboot so not really practical for me. A VM remains a real possibility so it's up to me to decide whether to stay with Windows or, now I have real access to it, try life with Ubuntu.